According to the present invention a chair is provided that has numerous desirable characteristics. A chair according to the invention is simple and easy to manufacture, is aesthetic, and provides good support for the user. The seat portion of the chair is comfortable, and the back portion provides good support to the lumbar region of the user's back. Further, the chair is constructed so that should the material forming the seat or back thereof become worn, destroyed by accident, or no longer aesthetically acceptable, it may be readily replaced without the need to send the chair to a factory, and without the employment of skilled labor.
The basic structures of the chair according to the invention comprise a frame component, upholstery means, and clamping means, with a supporting means mounting the frame component off the ground.
The frame component defines substantially the periphery of a chair seat and/or back portion. The frame component may take a wide variety of configurations but in the preferred embodiment is a metal tube that is circular in cross-section.
The upholstery means includes a body forming the actual seat and/or back of the chair, and a welt formed substantially around the entire periphery of the body. The upholstery means body preferably comprises an appropriately dimensioned piece of fabric, and may include a foam and a backing material attached thereto. The welt comprises a flexible, but relatively incompressible material, such as rope or cord, which is attached to the fabric (e.g. sewn into) around the periphery thereof.
The clamping means may also take a wide variety of configurations, and includes a clamping component that cooperates with the frame component to clamp the upholstery body therebetween, with the welt preventing the upholstery from being pulled between the clamping component and frame component when the seat and/or back are subjected to the forces that commonly exist when an individual sits in the chair. In the preferred embodiment, the clamping component comprises a ring disposed interiorly of the frame tube, and having a concave substantially half-circular configuration, the diameter of the circle being greater than the diameter of the frame tube. The inner ring is inserted into operative association with the frame hoop when the hoop has been adjusted to define a substantially large area, and when the hoop is then adjusted to close up the area it defines, the upholstery body is tightly clamped between the hoop and the ring.
The support for the chair comprises a bridge which spans opposite sides of the inner ring, and includes a downwardly extending shaft. The shaft is received in a base portion, such as a metal base portion clad with a vinyl extrusion, and the base may or may not include wheels.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a versatile, simple, aesthetic, and comfortable chair. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.